Effect of Heating Method on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Zircon Reinforced Aluminum Composites

Abstract

The mechanical properties and microstructure of aluminum matrix composites containing of zircon (10, 15 and 20 wt.%) as a reinforcement particles and cobalt additive (1, 1.5 and 2 wt.%) were investigated. The aluminum matrix composites were prepared by powder metallurgy technique and sintered in both conventional and microwave furnaces at temperatures higher than the melting point of aluminum. The results revealed that the density and mechanical strength of aluminum were increased by introducing zircon and cobalt particles. The maximum strength was obtained by adding 10 wt.% zircon sintered in microwave furnace at 950°C. The phase analysis and scanning electron microscopy of sintered composites were examined and found some interesting data about intermetallic compounds.

TiO2 ceramic particles-reinforced aluminum matrix composite prepared by conventional, microwave, and spark plasma sintering

“…25,26 The microwave heating presents many advantages such as high heating rate which leads to lower grain growth compared to conventional heating. 27,28 But the best potential of microwave heating can be considered as surface heating of powders and the formation of intermetallic compounds at the interface of matrix and reinforcement particles in AMCs. 29 On the other hand, spark plasma sintering (SPS) applies pressure during process and offers lower sintering temperature in comparison with microwave processing.…”

Production Methods of CNT-reinforced Al Matrix composites: A Review

“…This reinforcement is commonly non-metallic and usually a ceramic material like Al 2 O 3 , SiC, CNTs, and etc. [55][56][57][58][59][60]. The type of reinforcements and their volume fraction in the matrix alters the properties of AMCs.…”

Investigation on in-situ formed Al3V-Al-VC nano composite through conventional, microwave and spark plasma sintering

“…Here, the reported or measured temperatures recorded by thermocouples and pyrometers would be considered as the sintering temperature of the sample. On the other hand, each sintering process involves its own generation/transformation mechanism or transfer phenomena between the particles in a micro-scale outlook [4, 5, 6].…”